There’s been a whole lot of discussion about the new host, Brooke Burke, on Dancing with the Stars. In fact, there’s already been a few comments on this site about the host. So, I thought it would be fitting to have a little poll to see what people thought of the new host and how many people want Samantha Harris to come back to DWTS.

Ever since Samantha Harris got kicked off left Dancing with the Stars there has been a lot of speculation about who will replace as Samantha as the co-host of Dancing with the Stars. I think the speculation is finally over, but here’s a review of the various possibilities in case you missed it.

Although, tonight during a commercial for the Bachelor finale, they talked about the announcement of the new Dancing with the Stars 2010 cast during the Bachelor finale. Heidi will be live blogging the announcement, but more on that soon.

What was most interesting about the commercial was that they said, “listen to Tom Bergeron and Melissa Rycroft as they announce the new couples on Dancing with the Stars.” Does this mean that Melissa Rycroft will be the host that’s replacing Samantha Harris on Dancing with the Stars? Seems like it to me. She’ll be a busy girl hosting Dancing with the Stars with Tom and as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. Although, Samantha Harris did that for quite a while.

I think this will be a good thing for Dancing with the Stars. No doubt that Melissa Rycroft will be an upgrade at the host position.
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My question is – if it’s something she’s getting ready to work on, why wouldn’t SHE announce it…unless it’s seriously in the entertainment business. You know how they like to announce their own stuff. Anyway, there’s been a lot of pushing around the ‘net for Melissa to take Samantha’s place on DWTS since Samantha left DWTS. This pushing has been by Melissa fans, of course, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. I even sort of jokingly suggested it myself in a previous post! IF…and it’s a BIG IF because I don’t think that the producers pay that much attention to fans (because LOTS of celebs have huge fanbases, frankly)…if DWTS is Melissa’s announcement, what do you think of it? Is there something else Melissa has been rumored for and I’ve missed it? I read her twitter page back several days and I didn’t see anything.

Whatever is going on, I wish Melissa tons of success. I don’t think I would actually have an issue with her taking Samantha’s place. She’d do better than Sam and Paula combined (although that bar is set pretty low ).

Don’t anyone freak out – I could be TOTALLY off base on this speculation.

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

I’ve seen a number of different possible scenarios for Paula on Season 10, in addition to the possibility of her competing. The way that TMZ worded their article, I assumed they wanted her as a contestant. However, I’ve seen some assume she would be on as a Judge. I’ve also, since Sam quit, seen quite a few people state that it seems obvious that Paula would take Sam’s place – including Annie Barrett from Entertainment Weekly (via Twitter).

What is the likelihood of either scenario?? Well, considering that Paula was supposedly offered 1 million dollars, I have to believe that it’s either for competing or judging and that if it’s judging it’s one season only. Paula made many times that on American Idol, so she doesn’t need the work, plus that number seems too low!! Additionally, I have to think that hosting with Tom Bergeron would be a step down, in her mind, from judging on American Idol (and possibly, now, X-Factor). Also, since one million dollars is far above what I’ve heard the most popular celebs have made on that show, I’m starting to lean towards her being the fourth judge. Since the British version of DWTS has four judges on a regular basis, this isn’t out of the question. She would definitely add a different judging element to the show and, frankly, she’s every bit as qualified as Carrie Ann and Bruno, maybe more so. That’s why I’m so opposed to her being a contestant. I think I actually wouldn’t mind seeing her on as a fourth judge. AND, a fourth judge would mean less filler on a two hour performance show when only 12 couples are dancing.

So…contestant, judge or host? Your vote? Mine is for judge, definitely not for either contestant or host. Tom is awesome enough – add in Drew or maybe Brooke Burke. Heck, even Melissa Rycroft!

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

The news was just announced that Samantha Harris will not be back as host of Dancing with the Stars 2010. People reports that she’s leaving the show as her work on The Insider has increased along with working at Entertainment Tonight Weekend.

People also reported this quote from DWTS co-host Tom Bergeron, “Still, if Bergeron has his way, he will try to get Harris to return to the ballroom. “I’ve been known to try to twist arms behind the scenes,” he says. “I’m hoping this frees her up for us to have her as a contestant.””

I don’t believe Tom when he says that he will try to twist arms to get her back. Although, maybe he likes having Samantha make him look good. If you’ve read this blog for any time, you know that I’m not a fan of Samantha Harris at all. She’s nice on the eyes, but otherwise was a bad fit for me. I’ve certainly learned in the past that change isn’t always better. However, I think Dancing with the Stars has a good chance that this change will be better.

No hard feelings towards Samantha. I don’t mind her on the entertainment shows and I also wouldn’t mind her coming back to dance on DWTS at some point. Best of luck to her in her future endeavors.

I’m sitting here waiting for the SYTYCD finale and so I decided to make a list of things I want changed or added on Dancing with the Stars 2010.

1. Replace Samantha – you had to know this one was coming. She’s just terrible. Ok, she is pleasant to look at, but then she opens her mouth. Tell you what. How about you have her dance on the show. I would like to watch that. Plus it has the added advantage of her not being able to host if she’s dancing.

2. No Live Band – we’ve hashed this issue up over and over so I won’t rehash it here. I just don’t like it. However, the music selection was a little better this season.

3 More Behind the Scenes – I’d love to see more of what goes on behind the scenes of the show. If not on the show, then on the DWTS website is fine with me.

4. How about a themed DWTS? All sports people or all singers or all tv personalities. Would even the playing field a little better I think.

5 Dancing with the Stars All Stars – bring back a bunch of our favorites to compete again. This time rotatw the pro that dances with them each week. One episode they should bring back all of the worst dancers from DWTS. Imagine a dance off between all those terrible dancers. We won’t be able to stop laughing.

6. More Pro Dances – No special guest singer should be allowed on the show without the professional dancers also. I want dance and great dance. Not just some singer with crappy dancers.

7. DWTS Tour – I can’t believe their not doing a tour again. Maybe over the summer?

8. Edyta For the Win – I was really happy that Kym finally won a mirrorball trophy. Now it’s finally time for the beautiful Edyta. she would be so excited and that would just flat out make me happy.

9. Fewer Contestants – I think we all realize that 16 was too many. Does the show realize this?

10. A DWTS Professionals Special – How about an evening of incredible choreography, music and dance by the various DWTS professionals. It would be great to see the pros at their very best with no limits.

Coming up shortly – clips from the results show and an extremely romantic pro dance to Taylor Swift. Yes, I am a total sap.

The Insiderhas video up on their site that includes MOST of the couples. The accompanying write up was cute:

Samantha Harris may only co-host “Dancing with the Stars,” but that didn’t stop “The Insider” correspondent from suffering an ankle injury.

Not realizing her physical ailment, Derek Hough tried to dance with her. Backstage after the show he apologized. Samantha joked, “I’ve been waiting for eight seasons to have Derek to dance with me. He finally does it while I have a sprained ankle.”

Entertainment Tonight with Derek/Joanna and Melissa/Mark – and Derek gives pointers to one of the correspondents on the Thriller dance:

Maks’ blog gives us some insight into the competitive Mambo and how it works in the ballroom world in his weekly blog with TV Guide – no surprise he goes after the Derek naysayers and echos what I have said. Lots of good stuff in Maks’ blogs and I always enjoy them.

I was unable to watch Monday’s show because I was flying back to L.A. I saw all the performances on video and got a recap of some of the things. I saw a little bit of the mambo marathon, but heard a lot about it. I actually really like the idea. This is something we can explore and try to figure out. I think what people don’t understand is that we come from a competitive ballroom world and this is the format. Having couples dance one at a time, like Dancing does, yes, that’s awesome, but we’re used to everyone being on the floor at the same time dancing against so many other couples. I think Derek killed it with his competitive ability. We’re trying to stand out from the crowd. We have a set a routine, but there are a lot of elements that come up from within the crowd of other couples that you can play off of. I think that’s exactly what he did when he kept dropping Joanna over and over and doing that little lift thing. That’s what people are not used to seeing, but that’s when our true competitive spirit comes out. Couples that can pull it off pull it off.

I also liked the marathon because the judges, for the first time, had to judge couples in comparison to other couples. Whoever is the better dancer, wins. A lot of times, somebody gets a 7 and somebody else gets a 7 and people can’t believe it. A 7 given to someone who did an amazing job for them and a 7 given to somebody who is amazing but could’ve done better is not the same 7. In the marathon format, there was no chance for them to do that. They can’t say, “Hey Michael, you did great for what you did today. You showed improvement,” and “Mya, you should’ve done better because you’re that amazing.” They had to pick people based on how they compared to each other as dancers and not how they compared to themselves.

When you’re in a ballroom event, you start off with hundreds of couples, then you have a number of heats where more than 15 couples dance at the same time. They choose couples out of those heats and then you go to the next round. You have to stand out from the crowd and be in the judges’ memory for many heats until the end. You truly end up with some of the best at the end because they were not only able to showcase their dance ability, but their showmanship and everything else. I think that element was missing from the show. In the competition, if you’re truly great, you can draw audience attention from across the room.

I may not have been the most technical dancer, but what I was is I was a great competitor. I try to teach my students that it is very important to remember it’s 50 percent quality and 50 percent presentation. Then you can dissect presentation into many things, but it’s important to possess or develop, if you don’t have it, star quality. The idea is when you walk out on the floor, you cover the entire stage with your presence. I can go out and just stand, metaphorically speaking, or do something simple while somebody is doing flips all over the place and I can draw your attention to me. This is what we’re trained to do. If you’re better at it, you may have a better chance to win even if others may be better dancers.

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time you know I don’t like Samantha Harris. So, of course, when I saw this rant about Samantha Harris on the ABC boards (Thanks stephk2459), I just had to post it in its entirety. Enjoy!!

Please….!!!

Please go to acting school or hosting school or something. You’ve hosted this show for years, six seven years?? And yet you have not improved, not one bit! How could that be possible?

– You stumble your words.
– You cannot get more than 3 sentences in a row without stumbling something
– Your timing is unbelievably bad that you sound like you just can’t wait for Tom to finish off his introduction (in the very beginning of the show) just so you can get your turn. EVERY SINGLE show!
– You’re so obviously more interested in hearing yourself (and your stumbling bumbling sounds) than actually letting the contestants speak.
– Please, please stop interrupting the contestants just so you can put in your own 2 cents. Believe me, we’re far more interested in hearing the contestants than you.
– Consider asking the producer to have someone feed you with exactly what to say.
– Your comments and questions prior and after to the score announcement are neither funny nor witty nor edgy. They’re just plain awkward and sometimes, it’s just… what the eff?
– You try too hard to get the contestant to say something rude about the judge or something shocking that your questions are either inappropriate, awkward or just desperate. Then you always, ALWAYS cut them off.
– Work on your timing, please!!
– Consider letting the contestants to plea for votes themselves instead of you speaking to the public on their behalf, the public wants to hear them.

Someone on staff or the higher up must like you or the show got so popular they just don’t care but it is starting to get very very painful to have to watch you every week, I really need to learn to tune you out.

You’re very pretty, no question. And the amount of time it took you to get back to shape after having a baby is unbelievable. If you put a fraction of effort in your hosting ability…. who knows….

Please I beg you, please…. since it doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere, would you please please seek a coach. You can do it!!

Aaron and Karina have found a rather successful way to knock out the Donny publicity machine. I don’t know whether to be amused or disturbed. I have to say that I agree with those who have been saying there are too many couples such that it’s hard to focus – and it’s just not exciting. I’m getting a tad bored. I mean, no ones even talking about dancing. They’re talking about injuries (Lacey, Debi and Tom’s), supposed romances – Aaron and Chelsie or Aaron and Karina?? Right. Showmance for publicity? Beats me. :::yawn:::

Anyway, first up is EXTRA on Debi’s and Tom’s injuries, and Carrie Ann Innaba’s predictions for the season.

I totally agree with Samantha’s face when asked about Jon Gosslin on DWTS. Are you KIDDING ME??? Is this what we’re talking about? Watch this video to see Derek’s reaction to a Jon Gosslin question – hilarious. His response is as it should be. The video below is from the Insider – Sam Cam makes an appearance. Melissa – glorifying bad behavior?? Do you know how many of your costars have arrest records?? Like, SEVEN. LOL. Like I said in a previous post – stop talking, your foot keeps going into your mouth.

Extra again – Kelly Osbourne was pretty upset after her last dance. Steve O as special correspondent.

Mark Dacascos and his wife talk to EXTRA:

Selena Gomez on DWTS, and Kathy gets the boot. Chelsie “rejects” Aaron Carter. Shawn Johnson is the Special Correspondent for E! News:

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

1. Samantha
We’ll just get this one out of the way. It’s been said that she is one of those people that you either love or hate and I agree. I just think that it’s time to find someone who everyone can love…and who doesn’t annoy me.

2.The Extra Couples
Okay I know some people are probably excited about the extra celebs and that most of the pros will be featured…but I think that it’s just too much. I would think that it would be harder to get votes…of course I might be wrong.

3. Group Dances
I want to see more! I know there have been rumors (thanks to Heidi and the pros’ Tweets) about a group dance in week 1 and I hope so! The reason that I personally like the group dances is that it gives me insight on which celebrity is the better dancer. Does this mean that I’ll vote for the best dancer? Not necessarily but I like to know if I voting for skill or popularity.

Now I want to know…what do you want to see changed this season? Do you like the celeb/pro pairings? Is there something you just really hate? Do you disagree with me? I can’t wait to hear from you!